1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glass holder used to assemble a door glass to a window regulator of a vehicle which raises and lowers the door glass.
2. Description of the Related Art
In one type of window regulator for raising and lowering a door glass of a vehicle, a lower edge of a door glass is supported by a guide channel, which rests on tip ends of a pair of crossed arms. The door glass is raised and lowered by moving a guide channel.
Various types of glass holders for assembling the door glass to the guide channel have been proposed to facilitate the attachment of the door glass in an assembly line work process.
For example, a glass holder 114 shown in FIG. 14 includes a mounting plate 122 which is fixed to a guide channel 116 by a bolt 118 and a nut 120, and a holder portion 124 which extends from an upper portion of the mounting plate 122. The holder portion 124 is provided with a U-shaped elongated groove 126, into which a lower edge of a door glass 12 is inserted and supported. The lower edge of the door glass 12 is fixed in the elongated groove 126 by using adhesive 128. (This structure is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-1261).
However, in the glass holder 114, since the adhesive 128 is used to fix the door glass 12, the width of the elongated groove 126 must be set such that a gap between the door glass 12 and the holder portion 124 does not become too large. Accordingly, experience is needed in the work for assembling the door glass 12 as the door glass 12 must be inserted into a door panel through a narrow clearance to be fit into the elongated groove 126 of the holder portion 124.
Further, the work for assembling the door glass 12 requires a step for applying the adhesive 128 in the elongated groove 126. Moreover, the door glass 12 cannot be securely held only by the adhesive force of the adhesive 128.
To resolve the above-described drawbacks, the mechanism shown in FIG. 15 has been proposed, wherein a mounting hole 130 is formed in a door glass 12, and the door glass 12 and a glass holder 115 are integrally fixed to a guide channel 116 by a bolt 140 and a nut 142, thereby increasing the door glass holding performance (refer to Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 62-61719).
The glass holder 115 includes a first holding plate 132 having an L-shaped cross section, and a second holding plate 136 which is pivotably connected to an edge portion of a bottom surface 132A of the first holding plate 132. The first and second holding plates 132 and 136 are respectively provided with bolt holes 138 which are coaxially aligned with each other when the second holding plate 136 is pivoted upward so as to oppose the first holding plate 132.
The assembly of the door glass is carried out in the following manner. A lower edge of the door glass 12 is supported on and brought into contact with the bottom surface 132A of the first holding plate 132. The second holding plate 136 is thereafter pivoted upward so that the lower edge of the door glass 12 is held by the first and second holding plates 132 and 136. The bolt 140 is then inserted into the bolt holes 138 and the mounting hole 130. Subsequently, the tip of the bolt 140 is passed through an engagement hole 144 formed in the guide channel 116, and the bolt 140 is screwed into the nut 142 for fastening.
However, since assembly of the glass holder 115 requires an operation for manually pivoting the second holding plate 136 upward over an angle of 180 degrees, the speed of the assembly work is not increased. Moreover, since the glass holder 115 is not temporarily fixed to the guide channel 116, the glass holder 115 must be fixed to the guide channel 116 while the glass holder 115 is manually supported.